Stuff You Missed in History Class SYMHC Classics: COINTELPRO 1
Feb 14, 2026
A dive into how the FBI built and ran covert counterintelligence programs. Traces the Bureau’s rise, wartime laws, and postwar shifts that birthed COINTELPRO. Describes tactics like informants, surveillance, break-ins, and disinformation. Focuses on the program aimed at white supremacist groups and the political pressures that shaped those actions.
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Origins Of FBI Counterintelligence
- The FBI's COINTELPROs grew from earlier domestic-security efforts dating to WWI and the Palmer Raids.
- J. Edgar Hoover transformed the Bureau into a domestic counterintelligence force focused on perceived subversion.
Cold War Law Shaped Covert Tactics
- Cold War fears and prosecutions like the Smith Act prosecutions pushed the FBI to treat dissent as a security threat.
- Supreme Court shifts later narrowed legal tools, prompting covert counterintelligence tactics.
From Targeting Communists To Broad Dissent
- COINTELPRO began in 1956 targeting the Communist Party USA and then broadened to other movements.
- The FBI redefined 'communism' to include many reformist and civil-rights activities.